Macs are great, if you can afford them. I personally can't, I got lucky when my cousin went off to college and gave me her old one
Going Mac, Will I look back...
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Mar 10, 2013
0
#43
The problem with macs is that the software is limited. This is the #1 reason why I haven't purchased one. Chess software is second rate at best on the mac. If you are sold on the mac 'experience' then the only real choice is to run Windows either via bootcamp or running VMware. I just can't see the point in running windows on a mac... kinda defeats the purpose of buying a mac! Your needs as a titled player is far above all of us. There is nothing on the mac that comes even close to chessbase. From what I understand almost all titled players use Houdini as well which leaves mac users in the cold. I would recommend you get a half decent windows based laptop to run your chess software and use a mac for your other 'mundane' needs :)
Mar 10, 2013
0
#44
I have both Windows machines and Macintoshes. I used to use Chessbase a lot. It easily has far more features than any other chess program you can buy. I find now however I almost never use Chessbase. I find Hiarcs Chess Explorer and ChessX are more than good enough for 95% of my chess needs and I avoid the fustration of Chessbase always crashing right when I least want it to. Yes Houdini is at least 50 rating points higher than Stockfish, Critter, Komodo 3, or Deep HIARCS, but 50 points really isn't worth the aggravation.
JamesCoons wrote:
I have both Windows machines and Macintoshes. I used to use Chessbase a lot. It easily has superior features to any other chess program you can buy. I find now however I almost never use Chessbase. I find HIARCs and ChessX are more than good enough for 95% of my chess needs and I avoid the fustration of Chessbase always crashing right when I least want it to.
Actually, chessbase's features are superior only on the User Interface / Media side of things. When it comes to actual database functionality, Chess Assistant has ChessBase beat hands down. CQL queries provide functionality that is impossible in CB.
Mar 11, 2013
0
#46
So I tried to buy Hiarcs Chess Explorer from here http://www.hiarcs.com/mac-chess-explorer.htm and my CC Company wouldn't approve it? Is this site legit or what? I am gonna get it approved I think, but it worried me.
Where did you all buy the Hiarcs software?
Also directly from Hiarchs site. Not sure why your CC would not approve, did you call them and ask them?
I got it from there, no problems.
It seems as if the company that handles billing is sometimes also used for somewhat dodgy stuff (pornography, various scams etc.). I don't know if its related but shortly after purchasing Hiarcs, I received a letter from my bank asking me to block my visa card as the number had fallen into wrong hands. But it might be unrelated.
Hiarcs is great though! I only use it to play against it and keep a database so I can't comment on the analysis feature much, but I find that its playing style is quite nice.
i looked, they accept payment via paypal. One option is just to go that route if you are concerned about giving your CC number to that site,
What is CC?
Mar 11, 2013
0
#54
CC = credit card. FWIW, I've made multiple credit card purchases through the site and have never had an issue.
Just to clarify, I'm not saying that the company handling the payments are actively involved in any dodgy activities, only that it seems that some dodgy firms have used this company.
Mar 11, 2013
0
#57
good... you are finally leaving the dark side. Come to the light, and all that is Apple.
Kingpatzer wrote:
Danny,
VMWare Fusion + Windows Install Disk + Chessbase or whatever works great and is what I primarily use.
Hiarcs Chess Explorer is a pretty decent and is usable but isn't really up to par with CB I bought it because of the positive feedback I've heard, and it really isn't bad. But the big issue is that you can't really use the majority of engines with it. Still, you can get Hiarcs, Stockfish, Komodo, and a few others working -- just not Rybka or Houdini, which are the one's most people really want.
There are some free options like SCID, but they all pretty well suck compared to the payware options.
If you have a student in the family, the student pricing for VMWare is very reasonable. If you don't have a student, it's a bit pricey and you can look into other options:
https://www.virtualbox.org works pretty darn well and is free.
I don't like VMWare becaus it is more limitted than windows. I only use it when I need to use codeblocks.
I got Hiarcs Chess Explorer a few months ago, really enjoying it. Great chess s/w for the Mac, rivals Chessbase in mnay ways which I used for years. Just had another free update with a live games feature so now I can watch the candidate matches.
I purchased from the http://www.hiarcs.com website, no problems encountered, I received my download and license key immediately after purchase.
Mar 21, 2013
0
#60
chasm1995 wrote:
Kingpatzer wrote:
Danny,
VMWare Fusion + Windows Install Disk + Chessbase or whatever works great and is what I primarily use.
Hiarcs Chess Explorer is a pretty decent and is usable but isn't really up to par with CB I bought it because of the positive feedback I've heard, and it really isn't bad. But the big issue is that you can't really use the majority of engines with it. Still, you can get Hiarcs, Stockfish, Komodo, and a few others working -- just not Rybka or Houdini, which are the one's most people really want.
There are some free options like SCID, but they all pretty well suck compared to the payware options.
If you have a student in the family, the student pricing for VMWare is very reasonable. If you don't have a student, it's a bit pricey and you can look into other options:
https://www.virtualbox.org works pretty darn well and is free.
I don't like VMWare becaus it is more limitted than windows. I only use it when I need to use codeblocks.
The rating difference between Rybka, Stockfish and Critter is extremely minimal.
Yes I develop software for windows all day, but whenever I have a choice I much prefer using MACs.